TECHNICOLOR WORLD

(author's note: I created this post on Easter Sunday, but was so busy connecting with friends I forgot to hit the PUBLISH button. But, Easter Sunday or on a busy Monday, the message is just as relevant.)

Ezekiel 1:28

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”

It is Easter morning here in my house and I am thinking . . .Technicolor! I know that is a strange comment to make on a religious holiday, but let me explain.

Some of the best days of my life were spent in a huge, dark room with many others . . . watching. And what were we watching so intently?---movies! Movies were my escape from a humdrum life, from cares, from the daily grind. My parents were not the richest folks around but we always had enough for the movies which almost anyone could afford then.

I can still hark back to those times in the movies, to the stories of love, hate, betrayal, laughter, derring-do, friendship—all the emotions one could hope for, all for a small fee and a box of popcorn. I never met a movie I didn’t like, there was always some takeaway as you viewed the silver screen. But I always loved the BIBLE movies best. There was all that soft, fuzzy, bright color that flooded the whole theater, and action and stillness at just the right time, and dialogue (I often picked up a new word here and there from Ol’ Cecil B. [as in DeMille]) himself. He introduced his movie wonders with a mellifluous voice that commanded one’s attention. He laid out the beginning of our story and we were “off!”

I saw many of his movies, but most vividly recall Samson and Delilah, The Ten Commandments, and The Greatest Show on Earth (not a Bible movie.) As it is Easter weekend, there are showings of many religious movies. After I finish this blog entry I shall go and watch one of my favorites of all time, SAMSON AND DELILAH. It was all so thrilling—a strong man, a temptress who breaks him, and redemption! You can’t ask for more than that for your paltry movie ticket. I loved being transported back in time, to a place with different scenery, food, dress and loved being immersed in the history of another place. And the cherry on top was that it all came in the TECHNICOLOR of which I speak.

You see, we had a small television come into our house when I was about 5 years old. It was like a glowing magical box. This set of tubes, like the movies I would see weekly, could also carry me to different places, times, and to the people there and their lives. I actually would sit for a few minutes after the station signed off for the night and just stare at the screen. In my town the sign-off was the logo of a Native American in his war bonnet. Call me slow, but even that piqued my interest as I was amazed that there was a station out there somewhere, with more shows and stories and news for the next day. I never cared for the mechanics of it all—how it happened, what processes must occur for me to see Roy and Dale. No, for me it was all MAGIC pure and simple.

But the movies had that glowing technicolor. So, I shall watch today and see Delilah once again betray Samson. I shall see the fall of a strong man to evil through this woman. I will see his locks shorn yet again as he loses his strength. He will be imprisoned and enslaved again. But with the passing of time God will again grant Samson strength and he will demolish the Philistine temple. But I shall see REDEMPTION as Samson returns to God.

And that message is still not lost on me. I understood it as a child and I understand it now. We have only one hope in this world today and it is God. He even sent his Son to make sure we understood His love—there is hope for all if we only accept His Son, believe and strive for goodness, and love one another. I will admit it is a tough thing to do in this world we inhabit right now. But one has only to exercise the free will we are granted, to choose and reap the reward. It IS the greatest story ever told—in TECHNICOLOR or not.